Tourism in the Spanish economy represents 11% of the GDP (INE, 2018). Its sun and beach tourism model has diversified into other products, such as cultural tourism, that has been increasing in recent years. The objective of this research is to develop a structural model that measures the behaviour of cultural tourists, to help better understand the main variables affecting their loyalty to a destination, travelling within Spain. After reviewing the scientific literature, a hypothetical-deductive method has been used that focussed on the importance of considering the customer's experience, proposes a set of working hypotheses, contrasted by means of an analysis of the structural equations model (SEM), estimated taking the data from the Resident Tourism Survey/FAMILITUR of the National Statistics Institute (INE). The model confirms the importance of socio-cultural variables and the experience of tourists in loyalty-building and the zero importance of the spend in this relationship. This paper analyses the new segments of tourist demand, with a view to the results obtained assisting in the design of differentiated marketing strategies to increase the repetition of the cultural tourisms visits to the same destination and, therefore customer loyalty.

The new habits of tourist consumption favor the rise of cultural tourism, either as the primary or complementary offer of a destination. Therefore, it is necessary to deepen the study of the behavior of cultural tourism demand. This research aims to develop a structural model that allows measuring the main variables that affect the satisfaction and loyalty of the internal demand of the cultural tourist to a heritage destination. The results are helpful for the design of tourism management. The hypotheses posited have been tested using non-linear structural equations (SEM), estimated with data from the National Statistics Institute on internal demand for cultural tourism in Spain (n = 18,024). The results confirm the importance of socio-cultural variables and the tourist’s experience on fidelity to the visited destination. Furthermore, the negative relationship between the repetition of the visit and satisfaction is striking.

Gastronomic event tourism is an emerging phenomenon that attracts an increasing number of tourists seeking a memorable gastronomic experience based on its cultural uniqueness, highlighting the need to understand the behavior of this tourism demand. This study proposes a model to determine the importance of food tourism events in developing the cultural identity of tourist destinations by analyzing the tourist experience concerning their motivation, satisfaction, and loyalty, understood as variables of sustainable tourism behavior. The hypotheses in the model have been tested using non-linear structural equations modeling (SEM), estimated with data from the Resident Tourism Survey of the National Statistics Institute (NSI), on domestic demand for value-added gastronomic tourism in Spain. The data analyzed covers the period from January 2019 to December 2022 (n = 3483). The results show a significant relationship between the variables influencing overall tourist satisfaction with gastronomic events and tourist loyalty. This research provides knowledge on the behavior of gastronomically motivated tourists with practical implications for destinations, aimed at improving decision-making in the definition of tourism strategies, focusing on the preservation and enhancement of their gastronomic offer as a cultural identity through the offer of food events.

Heat waves represents a major concern for the tourism industry in the Mediterranean area. Therefore, it is necessary to deepen the study of the influence of high temperatures and their effects on tourist behavior. This research aims to develop a structural model that allows measuring how heat waves affect the behavior of external tourist demand in coastal destinations. The results are useful for the design by tourist destinations of adaptation measures to climate change. The proposed hypotheses have been contrasted using non-linear structural equations (SEM), estimated with data from the National Institute of Statistics on external demand in Spain. The results confirm lower tourist flows with the increase in high temperatures to the coasts of the Spanish Mediterranean area from traditional source markets, such as the United Kingdom. Furthermore, the tourist flow to the Balearic Islands decreases with high temperatures.

The aim of this research is to propose and validate a conceptual model that measures the degree of satisfaction of cultural tourists. The model could help us to better understand this segment of the market and identify factors that explain the degree of customer satisfaction. In terms of methodology, a hypothetical-deductive method has been applied. After reviewing the literature, five hypotheses have been proposed, integrated into an exploratory model. The model has been validated by a structural equations model (SEM) and estimated with data from the Survey on Resident Tourism/FAMILITUR, conducted by the Spanish National Statistics Institute (INE). The results assess the significance of sociocultural variables and tourist experience, and the null influence of satisfaction as a predictor of repeat visits. The model permits confirming a set of appropriate variables to analyze the satisfaction of Spanish internal demand with a cultural motivation, on local trips. Given the growing importance of cultural tourism worldwide, the proposed model can become an interesting tool for the management of the touristic positioning of destinations with a cultural heritage, as it helps us to understand the satisfaction and loyalty of the tourist flow.